This week for Intrepid Bebe Asks, I speak with Elisha. Elisha and her family lived round the corner from us in Australia, and is Mother of two gorgeous and fiery little girls. After we had moved away, she qualified as a Life Coach, specialising in supporting Partner’s of Shift Workers. She also produces a weekly Newsletter with helpful information and insights, which i find really interesting reading. I was intrigued to find out more about what a Life Coach is, and what it can offer, as well as how Motherhood has impacted Elisha.

Tell us about yourself & your family: I’m a33 year old woman. I’m a mum, Life Coach and Teacher. I teach Psychology 3 days a week to Senior Students. When I am not Teaching at school, I am working as a Life Coach and managing my website ShiftandSoar.com I’m married to a Police Officer and we have two daughters together (4.5 and 1.5 years). When I’m not working my time is totally consumed by these two. I provide them with way too much entertainment. I’m often home on my own at nights as the husband works a lot of arvo shifts. So we have a very structure night-time routine to keep me sane.

Can you tell us a bit more about what Shift & Soar is? I’m here to help Partners of Shift Workers find ease in their ever-changing- schedule. And to help them to thrive on the opportunities it provides for them.

What does a Life Coach offer its Clients? The time and the space to invest in themselves. To uncover what it is they want in their life and help them move from where they are to where they want to be. I offer a three-month coaching series that allows Partners of Shift workers to live beyond the resentment, loneliness and chaos of shift-work.

Did you have pretty good tech skills before establishing your website and online mentoring or has it been a sharp learning curve? I probably could have worked out the website however I dreaded the thought of doing it. So I hired someone to set it up for me. It was well worth the cost because she was incredibly quick and I would’ve been too stressed. I enjoyed writing the copy for the site and I had a lot of family and friends read over my content.

What do you hope Shift & Soar gives to its readers? Understanding, support and strategies. I just received a friend text to say that the last blog post I wrote resonated with her… this is exactly how I want people to feel. That I get it!!

Top piece of advice you’d offer a family struggling to make Shift-work work for them? MAKE the time to reflect (and write down) the perks of Shift Work. Then write a list of that things that bring you down. With this list brainstorm ways you can make it feel better. For example: Dinner time is a definite hate for me. So I get the husband to prepare meals in advance. I often invite my friend over and her child (she has a shift-working husband) to make it more enjoyable. Then they all have baths together…sometimes we sit around and read books. Then all I have to do is put the girls to bed. Another down-side is loneliness. So on these nights I occupy myself with a bath and good book. Or I meditate. Sometimes I dance in the kitchen when the girls are in bed.

How has becoming a Mother changed you? Whoa! This is a tough one. To be honest it’s been a hard slog. Being a mum is incredibly taxing, particularly since my Husband spent 9 months at the Police Academy when our first was 18 months old. All my ideas of ‘Mothering’ went out the window very quickly. I thought I’d enjoy staying at home but that was not the case. I needed the social interaction work brings. My second Daughter had a calming effect on me. My first Daughter, however, almost sent me off the rails. So I changed in myself during my ‘Mothering journey’. I’ve been happy, stressed, sad, elated, calm…. All the emotions. What I do differently: I now REALLY enjoy going out with friends, whereas pre-child I took it for granted. Since having Daughters I make sure I do things for myself. I want to model that so that they grow up thinking that ‘taking time out’ is normal.

Do you worry about the risk of feeling exposed or over sharing online , be that with insights into your personal life or family photos? I’m sometimes mindful of posting photos. I make sure that there’s no street name in the background and I definitely don’t post anything when we’re on holidays. I wait until we’re home and say… ‘this is what we’ve been doing….’ I believe that those who are looking at them though have good intentions and I always post with an intention. On my Business accounts I try and link each photo with my weekly topic.

Where is your perfect spot to work/write from? Our town library. Looking out at the trees and the River.

Where would you like to be in five years both personally & professionally? I will be travelling to rural areas conducting group sessions with partners of Shift Workers and empowering them to live the life they want.

What advice would you give to a brand new Mama? Don’t have any expectations. Go with the flow!

And a new Dad? Share your feelings and ask your partner how they’re doing. Be a team!

Most useless bit of advice you’ve been given? There’s been plenty but I didn’t take any notice.